Dark Intentions Rynu's Story
by Caroline L'Amoure
Summary: Rynu never had a happy childhood. This dark and brooding man's mysterious past is unknown to but a few chosen people. Violence and Dark Magic have shaped this man's life, and continue to shape his future. Rated M for future scenes ;D
1. Chapter 1

A cry of pain echoed through the house, making the small boy flinch with fear in his bed. He sat up and looked over at the door, hearing the voices yelling louder with each blow. He knew what was happening- it happened nearly every night since he could remember.  
He silently crept over to the door, opening it just a crack to try and look at what was going on. He knew he shouldn't- last time he had done it, he had been punished.  
"No- please!" A woman shouted at a man's feet, his stance wobbling with drunkenness. The boy flinched as the man hit her again with a large bottle, the cry sounding again as the woman whimpered in pain. She looked up and saw him, her green eyes widening with fear. She begged him silently to go back to his room- go back before he notices you.  
The boy shut his door silently, knowing he wasn't strong enough to do anything. He had tried before. He glanced down at the large scar on his arm, running from his elbow to his shoulder. He had many reminders of things not to do- all over his body.  
He flinched as another cry sounded from down the hall, knowing he couldn't sleep with that happening. He was always scared- not for himself, but for her. She always protected him- why didn't she protect herself?  
He laid down on his bed, turning away from the doorway in case the man should look in on him- he would pretend to be asleep so he would leave him alone.  
He covered his ears as a piercing cry sounded out, telling him that she had really gotten hurt that time. He would check on her in the morning. For now, all he could do was hope she would be okay tonight.

When he woke back up, he looked around his room at the toys on his floor. Sometimes when the man came into his room, he broke things. It didn't seem like he had this time.  
He jumped from his bed and ran down the hall, opening her door silently and peeking inside. She was sitting on her bed, holding her arm and crying softly. His chest twisted in pain at the sight of her crying and didn't see the man in the room, so walked in carefully.  
"Are you okay?" He asked, looking up at her.  
"Oh sweetie." The woman smiled softly down at him, holding out her good arm toward him as she held back her tears. "It'll be okay. Come here."  
The boy climbed onto the bed, hardly tall enough to hoist himself onto the sheets. He crawled over to her, resting his head against her shoulder as he looked down at her arm. It was black and blue, and not looking very healthy.  
"Are we going to the doctor again?" He looked up at her, not really asking, but telling her to do it.  
"I think we might have to. How about we see your cousin on the way back?" She smiled gently, ruffling the boy's black curly hair.  
"Yeah!" The boy said excitedly, hardly able to contain his joy. His cousin lived in a keep- he hardly got to see creatures in the city, but Avalon was filled with more animals than he could count. The woman smiled happily and stood up, flinching suddenly as she moved her arm. "Don't tell your father though, okay? It'll be our secret that we went to see them."  
Rynu ran a cross over his chest with his finger in promise, jumping off the side of the bed. He knew what to do by heart by now. He ran over to his dresser in his room and packed his own clothes in a bag before running back into his mother's room and packing her clothes as well. He dragged the heavy bag on the ground, the package almost as big as he was.  
"What a good boy." His mother said, her voice cracking as tears welled up in her eyes again. "My little Rynu is so good to his mother, isn't he?"  
Rynu smiled up at her, trying to cheer her up. "Let's get momma better." He said, grunting with effort as he dragged the bag toward the door. His mother smiled and picked up the bag in her one good arm, swinging it over her shoulder as she walked out the door with Rynu.

"Does it hurt?" Rynu looked at the cloth holding his mother's arm to her chest.  
"Not anymore. The healer said it should take a while for my arm to be back to normal, but mommy will be fine." She smiled down at Rynu as they walked through the forest to Avalon. A phoenix flew through the trees overhead, screeching once in greeting before flying over to the others, who were on the ground around a man with black hair. A little girl tugged on the man's red and gold robes, pointing toward Rynu and his mother.  
"Serena." The man said in pity when he saw her condition. He jogged over to her, inspecting her with a solemn expression. "Did he do this to you?"  
Serena could only look at the ground, fighting back her emotions.  
"You have to get out of that place, Serena. Why don't you leave?" The man looked to his sister in concern, glancing down at Rynu and seeing with relief that he was untouched.  
"I-I don't know where else to go." She whispered.  
"Nonsense. You can stay here, if you need to." The man said softly, hoping he could get through to her this time.  
"No, I don't want to burden you. You already have Pheona to take care of, and a whole flock of phoenix."  
The man looked back at the phoenix chirping at each other on the ground and sighed. "You know I have enough room for you, Serena. Just please- think about it, okay?"  
She nodded, hugging her brother with her good arm, looking down at Rynu as he watched silently.  
"Why don't you go play with Pheona while your uncle and I talk?" She said softly, watching Rynu run off with Pheona to play in the forest.


	2. Chapter 2

Many years later, Rynu looked up to his mother in confusion. "You want me to what?"  
"I want you to show your uncle what you did the other day- remember the flower?" Serena smiled to her son, ecstatic that he had shown signs of magic.  
"Go on, bud. Show uncle Raoul what you can do." Pheona's father smiled, Pheona looking at Rynu from beside her father.  
"Okay." Rynu said nervously, looking around on the ground and seeing a small vine curling up one of the trees nearby, He walked over and put his hand over the stalk, the vine growing slightly up the tree bark and twisting in on itself.  
"Ah, we have a little earth mage." Raoul grinned, setting a hand on top of Pheona's head. "Perhaps we should send them both off to the keep to learn how to control their powers?"  
Serena looked up at Raoul uneasily. "I-I don't know."  
Raoul watched his sister uneasily, understanding her apprehension. "He'll be okay. He'll be in a safe place."  
Serena nodded sadly, kneeling down next to Rynu and hugging him gently. "Would you like that, sweetie? Do you want to learn how to be a magi?"  
"Do you have magic too, Mom?" Rynu grinned.  
"No, momma can't use magic. All momma's magic went to her brother." Serena grinned up at Raoul, who snickered.  
"Doesn't make a difference sis, your son has magic, so you must have a little in you somewhere." He said, looking at her in satisfaction.  
"Whatever you say." Serena rolled her eyes with a smile. "Either way, we should get heading back home.  
"I'll see you later, Rynu." Pheona waved happily to Rynu, who waved back as they left Avalon.

"I really want to learn how to use my magic." Rynu said as they walked back to their house.  
Serena looked down at him uneasily. "That will be up to your father, Rynu."  
Rynu frowned, looking at the ground in anger. "You know what he'll say. He'd never let me go."  
Serena sighed. "Your father isn't that bad, unless he's been drinking. Just ask him- maybe he'll say yes."  
Rynu sighed, opening the door for her and walking into the house. He knew better than to think his father would agree to letting him go to the keep.  
"Where have you been?" A gruff voice came from the living room of the house. Serena and Rynu froze in surprise that he was home already. Usually he was home much later.  
"We went out for a bit. Nothing special." Serena said casually, pushing Rynu into the hallway. "Go to your room, Rynu."  
Rynu walked over to the hallway, looking back at her in concern. He knew what was coming. He had noticed the half empty bottle by his father, and had seen the anger in his eyes. This wouldn't end well.

Rynu flinched as the yells started. He knew what had happened this time, and he couldn't help the guilt that wracked him. His mother had probably asked his father if he could go to the city to learn to control his magic and be a magi. His father yelled in anger, followed by another cry. Rynu flinched again, his fists clenching so hard his nails bit into his palms. He looked to the door when he heard his mother yell this time, his father's voice crying out as something shattered.  
The silence that followed made Rynu's heart pound in his chest. He waited, his eyes wide as he listened intently. His father muttered something he couldn't hear and was followed by the most horrifying scream Rynu had ever heard.  
Then more silence.  
Rynu started shaking with fear, walking over to the door as he heard his father swear loudly. Rynu ran into the hallway, looking over at his mother lying on the ground below his father, who was rubbing a burned shoulder, the cloth burned away from the area.  
"Go back to your room." His father growled at him as Rynu stared at his mother on the ground. Her face was unrecognizable, burned to the bone in parts, half of her body burned, the wall behind her singed with a silhouette of her body.  
"What did you do to her?" Rynu said, his voice cracking as he saw she wasn't breathing- her one eye was staring straight ahead, glazed over.  
"I said go to your room. I'm your father, so you'd better listen to me." His father turned to him, fists bared.  
Rynu ground his teeth as the feat seething through him turned to anger. He glared up at his father through his long curly hair and growled low in this throat. "You don't deserve to be my father. You never did."  
"What did you say?" The man yelled harshly, hitting Rynu on the side of the face with one of his large fists. Rynu fell to the ground from the blow and wiped his bloody lip, glancing to his side at his mother's body.  
"You don't even deserved to be called a human. You're an animal that doesn't even deserve to live!" Rynu yelled, his body glowing bright green in his anger. He glared at his father with intense green eyes as a tendril of his magic connected with his father, making the man yell in pain.  
"You killed my mom!" Rynu screamed in pain, his magic exploding from around him, the force shattering objects around the house. He heard a loud thump on the floor as his mind started to get foggy, the black haze overtaking his vision as he collapsed to the floor.


	3. Chapter 3

Rynu sat outside of the large door in the huge tower in The Keep. Pheona sat next to him, looking at him in concern.  
"Are you going to be okay?" She asked, seeing his eyes still red from crying.  
"Yeah." He said, his voice raspy. "I think so." He looked away, not liking anyone to see how much he had been crying over the last week. When he had woken up he had cried over his mother until he fell asleep, only waking up when Raoul and Pheona had found him on the floor.  
"You used a lot of magic. Dad was worried." Pheona said softly, not really knowing what to say.  
"I was angry." Rynu said, looking over at his cousin. "How long did I sleep?"  
Pheona paused for a minute to think. "Two days, I think. We couldn't even wake you up." She looked away uneasily. "I'm glad you got him, though. He deserved it."  
Rynu nodded, looking down. He should probably feel bad that he had killed his father, but… he didn't. In fact, he felt a little happy about it, and that in turn made him feel guilty. He shouldn't feel happy that he had killed the man who had made him.  
"I hope Thane lets you learn to be a magi, though. Maybe we can even have the same mentor!" Pheona grinned. "I don't know what element I'll specialize in yet, but you have a knack for earth magic."  
Rynu smiled weakly at his cousin, knowing by her chatter she was trying to cheer him up. He looked up when Raoul and Thane came out of the room, standing quickly with Pheona to hear their decision.  
"I am sorry for your loss, young one. You may learn to be a magi, and Raoul has agreed to let you stay at Avalon until you can live on your own. May your fate turn for the better." Thane put a hand on Rynu's head in consolation and walked down the hall to attend to his other duties.  
"That means you and I will be living together!" Pheona cheered happily. "We can hang out whenever we want!"  
Rynu chuckled to his cousin, knocking her on the arm playfully. "Not all the time though, okay?" He muttered, looking up to Raoul uneasily. The man smiled down and kneeled so that he was eye level with Rynu.  
"I know this will be strange for you at first, but I hope you learn to call Avalon your new home. You're always welcome with us." Raoul said softly, hugging Rynu tightly. "Your mother would be proud of you- you stood up for yourself."  
Rynu couldn't stop the tears that burned at his eyes, making him bury his face in Raoul's red and golden robes. "Thank you." He said, muffled against the robe.  
"No problem, kiddo. Let's go home." Raoul stood back up, taking Rynu and Pheona's hands in his own and walking down the hallway back to Avalon.

"This is awesome- look at the size of that hoof print!" Pheona looked down at the tracks in the ground at Avalon, pointing toward a particularly loud hoof print.  
"This one's odd." Rynu pointed to a curving line in the dirt. "What is it?"  
"It looks like a snake or something. They can be poisonous, so I wouldn't follow that one." Pheona looked over at the track uneasily.  
Rynu stared at the track for a minute and sighed, standing up and looking over toward the keep. "We should probably head back." He sighed, wiping sweat from his forehead. This summer was so dry and hot, his black hair seemed to absorb all the heat from around him.  
"Yeah, it's getting pretty hot." Pheona sighed, standing back up. "Let's head back."  
The two young magi turned around, stopping in their tracks when a man ran into the clearing, panting for breath. Pheona and Rynu glanced at each other, not recognizing him at all. He wore strange robes that told he wasn't a magi of any sort.  
"Do you two know where the nearest settlement is?" The man panted, glancing at the children.  
"Ah, Synara is probably the clostest city, but my dad's keep is that way." Pheona pointed toward Avalon, making Rynu stared at her in shock.  
"Don't tell him where Avalon is, we don't even know who he is." Rynu whispered to Pheona in disbelief. How could she be so trusting?  
"Thank you." The man said, heading toward Avalon with a quick pace. Pheona and Rynu watched after him, looking at each other uneasily before walking after him.

Pheona and Rynu walked over to the keep, avoiding a few animals as they flew past to get away from the stranger. Pheona ran over to her father, stopping when he saw him talking to the stranger.  
"I appreciate the offer. Thank you." The stranger said, their voice sighing with relief.  
"It is no problem. Avalon is big enough to house many people- one more won't hurt." Raoul smiled to the man, who looked down at Pheona and Rynu in interest. The man smiled to them gratefully, taking his pack and walking back toward the large cabin in the middle of the keep.  
"Who is he, dad?" Pheona watched the man as he walked into the cabin, shutting the door behind him.  
"He's a sorcerer." Raoul said, still surprised himself. "There's not many of them left, you know."  
Pheona's eyebrows raised in interest. "What's a sorcerer?"  
"Socerers are people with much more magic than a magi." Raoul explained. "They can transform themselves and others into anything they want- even unicorns."  
"I love unicorns." Pheona said whistfully. "Do you think I can have my own someday?"  
"Yeah right." Rynu snickered. "Unicorns are super rare, and don't come anywhere near magi."  
Pheona pouted and sighed, knowing Rynu was right. She should probably settle with phoenix, like her dad.  
"Now now, no need for the long face. Maybe someday a unicorn will come to you and you can be friends." Raoul patted his daughter on the head and started walking over to the phoenix to get them settled down.  
Rynu rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Yeah well, I want a basilisk, but that'll never happen."  
Pheona snickered as well. "Maybe it'll turn you to stone and you'll be a statue in someone's garden!" She laughed teasingly and ran over to the cabin, Rynu chasing after her.

Rynu found the stranger reading a book in the main room of the cabin, his silver and purple robes glinting against the sun shining through the window. He was too wrapped up in his book to realize Rynu was walking into the room, sneaking past him to glance over his shoulder at the book. The pages showed hundreds of runes of some sort- intricate lines that made his head dizzy as he looked at them.  
"Well aren't you the curious one?" The sorcerer laughed as he noticed the boy looking over his shoulder.  
"I've never seen a sorcerer before." Rynu said with a blush when he was caught.  
"Well then, now you have." The man said, looking out the window uneasily before continuing. "Though you might not want to meet another."  
Rynu tilted his head in confusion as the man laughed, ruffling Rynu's black hair playfully. "Not everyone is nice, kid. Especially sorcerers. A lot of us are right bastards that deserve to be killed in the worst way possible."  
Rynu blinked in confusion. "What about you?"  
The sorcerer looked down at him and smiled sadly. "Especially me."  
Rynu watched him in confusion as he sighed and started reading again. "Run along, kid. I need to figure this spell out as soon as possible."  
Rynu glared at the man at being brushed off like that and walked out of the room in frustration.


	4. Chapter 4

Rynu heard yelling from the main room of the cabin, sitting up in his bed in alarm, his mind racing with possibilities of his mother. He looked around in surprise at his surroundings and fell back against the pillows as he remembered his mother was already dead. There was no need to worry about her anymore.  
Rynu looked toward the door as the shouts still sounded from downstairs, walking over to his door and opening it slightly.  
"What do you mean? Who's coming?" Raoul shouted, watching the sorcerer pace nervously.  
"Herron. He's coming, and we have to get out of here."  
"We're not leaving our own home." Pheona's mother said firmly, her hands on her hips in stubbornness. "We welcomed you here because we thought you needed help."  
"I did! I still do!" The sorcerer shouted widly. "I didn't know those kids lived here though, they have nothing to do with any of this! I can't figure the spell out that I need, and I can feel him coming toward here. So please, just get everyone out of here."  
"I'm not leaving behind my phoenix." Raoul growled.  
"They're just birds- are they worth risking your life?" The sorcerer stared at him in shock.  
"Yes." Raoul said firmly. "If you had told us about this before we might have been able to prevent this, but since you did not, I'll have to ask you to leave."  
The sorcerer stopped his pacing and stared at Raoul in shock. "You're kicking me out?"  
"Yes- here's the door." Raoul walked over to the door, opening it for him and motioning for the sorcerer to walk out. "You have brought danger to my family, and so are no longer welcome."  
"I brought danger to your family." The sorcerer scoffed in disbelief. "You don't know the meaning of the word danger." The sorcerer said, glowing purple and shattering the windows of the cabin as a sudden fierce wind blew through. "You can't kick me out- I'm a sorcerer! I could overtake you weakling magi with a flick of my finger."  
Pheona's mother sighed and brought of her hands, a large red orb suddenly surrounding the sorcerer. He looked around at the odd sphere, putting her hand to its solid surface in confusion before glaring at the woman fiercely. He charged his powers more, making the woman strain, but otherwise keep the sphere intact.  
"Time to take out the trash." She muttered, lifting one of her hands to raise the sorcerer into the air and bring him out the door, setting him outside. The bubble snapped with a 'pop' and left the sorcerer standing outside, looking shocked that he had been overpowered so easily.  
Raoul laughed and walked over to his wife, wrapping an arm around her hip and bringing her closer, kissing her on the cheek sweetly. "Have I ever mentioned that I love you, Vitani?"  
"Oh no, never." Vitani rolled her eyes sarcastically.  
"Where did you learn to do that?" Raoul asked as the sorcerer fumed outside the door at being ignored.  
"That's a secret." Vitani put a finger to her lips and winked teasingly.  
"You'll regret this." The sorcerer snapped and turned around, staring up at the sky with wide eyes, his features contorting into a mask of terror.  
"Pascile!" A man shouted in anger from the sky, making Raoul and Vitani run outside to see who else was there. A man floated in the sky, surrounded by a blue glow that burned from his eyes and the amulet around his neck. He glared down at the sorcerer on the ground, who was frozen with terror.  
"And who are you who harbor this man?" The man yelled down at Raoul and Vitani.  
"We're just magi, and have no idea what he's done." Raoul raised his hands, hoping to reason with the angry sorcerer.  
"So you say." The man squinted his eyes suspiciously. "This man killed my wife. Therefore, you will all pay." The man shouted, holding out his hand, a stream of fire streaming from his palm, bursting one of the trees in the keep on fire. Raoul shouted in horror, looking back at his wife.  
"Quickly- take the children and run." He said, running over to the rack at the side of the cabin and taking his red and golden, throwing it on.  
"What about you?" Vitani said desperately.  
"I'll take care of them as long as I can. Just get the kids out of here!" Raoul shouted as he ran out the door of the cabin, his red magic forming balls of flames in front of him before shooting it at the magi and repeating, trying to distract him.  
Vitani ran up the stairs, relieved to see Pheona and Rynu already out in the hall, looking confused.  
"Come children, we have to go quickly." She said, holding out her hands to the children and running down the stairs, back out the door behind Raoul as her husband distracted the magi, streams of fire lighting the sky around them as the cabin was embroiled in flames. Pheona yelled in terror as she looked back at her home burning, phoenix scattering in all directions in horror, the cries of creatures in pain ringing out through the forest.  
Vitani stopped suddenly when the sorcerer Pascile stood in front of him, his eyes crazed.  
"Now you'll pay for what you did for me." He growled, walking forward menacingly.  
"Over my dead body." Rynu said, standing in front of Vitani with his arms out. The sorcerer glanced down at him for a moment, his hand glowing purple as he hit the child, sending Rynu flying and knocking into a tree, falling unconscious.

Rynu woke up with the smell of ash filling his senses. He stood up, his head throbbing with pain as he kept his eyes closed, feeling dizzy. He slowly opened his eyes, and immediately wished he hadn't.  
Avalon was only ashes. Nothing was left, the forest eerily quiet as ash flecks flew through the air around him. He sat up, soot falling off his clothing as he looked around at the burning remains of the cabin, and a body lying by its entrance. He ran over quickly and saw the burned remains of Raoul lying on the ground, staring in anger toward the sky above.  
"Oh Gods, no." Rynu gasped, falling to his knees beside his uncle. Raoul was gone- the only man that had ever showed him an ounce of love was dead. He looked around for Vitani and Pheona, but saw nothing but burned trees around him. He stood, looking around for them in all directions, deciding to try and find them. He looked down at the trail of footprints through the ash, walking back toward where he had seen them last. He looked further into the forest to see another body lying on the forest floor, labored breathing coming from it.  
"Vitani!" Rynu screamed, running over and sliding to a stop on his knees beside her.  
She looked up at him, smiling softly before coughing, a trail of blood coming from her mouth to trail down her cheek. "Hey sweetie. Look, I got him." Vitani held up a shaking hand, which held a black gem in a silver setting. The gem was cracked up the middle as it fell out of her loose hand onto the ash covered forest floor.  
"Don't talk, you'll make things worse." Rynu said, tears streaming down his cheeks. He knew injuries though- and this wasn't something she could live through.  
"I'm sorry this happened. We should never had let that sorcerer stay here." Vitani closed her eyes in pain. "Do you know where Pheona is?" she whispered.  
"No, I don't." Rynu said, holding her shaking hand in his. "Please don't leave me."  
Vitani looked at Rynu with her red eyes fiercely. "Listen to me, Rynu. Raoul and I will never leave you. We both love you, even though we may not be there for you later on. We will always love you and Pheona with all that we are." Vitani coughed, blood spurting from her mouth as she hissed in pain. "I'm sorry, Rynu." She said through her clenched teeth, and stilled.  
Rynu froze, staring down at Vitani as she stopped breathing, sobbing against her hand. Everyone had left him- he was alone again. He stood and looked around, his vision cloudy with tears as he searched for a direction he should go in. He had never learned his way around this forest very well. He walked a short distance before seeing a body on the ground of the sorcerer that had brought all this trouble and caused Raoul and Vitani's deaths.  
Rynu felt the anger well inside him until he couldn't take it anymore. He yelled and raised his hands over the corpse, the flesh disintegrating in a burst of black tendrils. Rynu huffed in anger as he tried to calm himself down, looking at his hands as they glowed black with his magic.  
He didn't care. He trudged through the ash of the forest, not knowing where to go- lost, and vulnerable.


	5. Chapter 5

Rynu wandered through the forest in a daze, covered with the ash from the fires that had destroyed his home. He stumbled and finally decided to rest on a stump, sitting down and sagging, setting his head in his hands. He had no more tears- they were all dried up. So instead he just sat there motionless, trying not to think of what had just happened.  
He felt something touch his rear and jumped in shock, looking down into the stump to see a small black snake slithering around inside.  
Oh Gods it hadn't bitten him, had it?" Rynu put a hand on his rumb, but felt no bite marks. He looked down in the hole of the stump, watching the snake coil in on itself before rearing a small black head, its eyes closed tightly in the bright sunlight.  
"Gods, it's a…" Rynu reached out carefully to the small basilisk, touching her head with two of his fingers. The creature let out a small hiss and tilted its head in confusion, leaning into the touch for a moment before hissing again and wrapping itself around his hand. Rynu froze as the basilisk wound its way around his arm, its body hugging against his skin tightly as it wound around and around, until its head rested on his shoulder, the tip of its tail in his palm.  
"You're a lot smaller than I thought." Rynu said thoughtfully, figuring the length of the basilisk could only be about three feet long. "I thought basilisk were a lot bigger."  
The serpent stuck its tongue out into Rynu's ear, making the boy squirm as it tickled.  
"Alright, then you must be a hatchling, but…" Rynu turned his arm over to look the basilisk over. "Are you a girl or a boy?"  
The basilisk reared its head, flashing fangs in protest.  
"Alright, alright! How about you just answer me- uh…. Are you a boy?" Rynu said hopefully.  
The basilisk stayed still, still resting its head against his shoulder.  
"A girl?" Rynu said uneasily, sighing when the basilisk raised her head and hissed loudly.  
"Alright then. A female basilisk." Rynu said, still hardly able to believe he was really holding a basilisk. "But where did you come from? Did you have an owner before?"  
The serpent laid its head on his shoulder sadly, her body drooping in depression.  
"Alright, you did. I don't see why anyone wouldn't want you though. I love basilisk." Rynu said, looking her over again. The small wings that sprouted from her back flapped happily against his shirt. Her eyes were still closed, clenched tightly shut as if she were afraid to open them.  
"That can't be comfortable to keep your eyes shut." Rynu said, looking down at his black tunic- it was in tattered ruins, one more rip wouldn't hurt it. He ripped off a long piece of the shirt from around his waist and tying it around the basilisk's eyes. She raised her head and tickled his cheek with her tongue, slithering up his arm to rest around his shoulders.  
"At least I'll have you." Rynu said softly, running his hand along the basilisk's scales. He walked further into the forest, trying to find his way to civilization.

He looked up in surprise as a dark unicorn stared at him from a clearing up ahead, her eyes bright as she watched him for a moment. She whickered in confusion, walking over cautiously to inspect him.  
He didn't know what to do. He had never seen a unicorn before, but he had heard stories that they only came to people with pure souls. Then why did it come to him?  
The unicorn walked forward, keeping her distance from him as she inspected the basilisk around his shoulders. She whickered softly, tossing her head to the south.  
Rynu tilted his head in confusion and looked in that direction, seeing nothing but trees.  
"I don't know the way." He said desperately, looking to the unicorn for help.  
She snorted and nodded slightly, starting to walk in that direction. Rynu glanced at the basilisk wrapped around his shoulders and walked after the unicorn, hoping he wasn't going crazy and imagining things.

The unicorn stopped in front of a road, looking down at it and snorting slightly. She looked back to him and nodded to the right on the road. Rynu looked in that direction, his eyes wide with shock as a light unicorn ran toward them, making the dark unicorn whicker happily. He slowed and stopped near the dark unicorn, looking at the boy in surprise.  
The light unicorn whickered softly to the dark, glancing to Rynu before continuing to wave his horn. Rynu had the feeling they were somehow talking about him, but he had no idea how unicorns could possibly talk. The dark unicorn finally snorted and turned around to him, nodding to the light unicorn, who faced back toward the way he had come from. Rynu stepped forward, smiling weakly in thanks to the dark unicorn, who nodded her head in farewell as he follows the other unicorn toward the city in the distance.


	6. Chapter 6

Rynu stopped with the light unicorn in front of a house with stables, the unicorn using his front hoof to bang against the door loudly.  
"Alright alright!" A voice said from inside, opening the door quickly to reveal a thin man with wild brown hair. "You again?" The man looked at the unicorn in confusion.  
The unicorn snorted at such an indignant greeting and moved aside to show Rynu.  
"Rynu! Thank Gods... Come inside, lad." The man looked out at the unicorn and nodded in thanks before he whickered and ran back down the dirt street toward the forest.  
Rynu looked around the large wooden house, noticing someone sitting in front of the fireplace covered in a red blanket, wrapping it around her head.  
"Rynu- are you alright?" Conintor said in concern, leaning down in front of him to see his expression. Rynu flinched as the man wiped a bit of ash from his face, not liking the close contact.  
"I'm fine." He muttered in frustration, trying to back away from the man.  
The girl on the floor tensed, looking over at Rynu with wide red eyes. "Rynu? You're alive?"  
"Pheona!" Rynu yelled, ignoring the man to run over to his cousin, stopping in front of her to see if she was alright. "Are you hurt?"  
"No." Pheona said, her red eyes glazed over with a familiar expression. He knew that expression well- his mother had shown that defeated expression every time his father had beaten her. His chest ached to see it on his normally cousin.  
"Well I'm glad you're not… why are we here?" Rynu looked up at Conintor, unable to help but feel mistrust toward him.  
"He knew mom and dad. They used to hang out there a lot- and... " Pheona said softly, her voice devoid of all emotion.  
Rynu watched her in concern for a minute before looking back at Conintor. "You're Conintor?"  
"Con for short." The man nodded. "You're welcome to stay here as well. I'm glad you kids are alright."  
"Is… is mother okay?" Pheona asked Rynu, looking up at him with wide eyes.  
Rynu froze, shaking his head gently. Pheona groaned in pain, her hands clenching at fistfuls of her black hair as she sobbed. "I don't have anyone now." She said through her crying.  
"You have me. We'll stick together." Rynu hugged his cousin, hoping she would be alright. He had been through this kind of thing before- so he knew how to deal with the pain. Pheona however, had never had anything really horrible like this happen to her.  
Conintor watched the two children, unable to help but feel bad for them. He looked out the window, his face pained as he saw the smoke billowing from the forest in the distance.

Rynu and Pheona sat in their familiar spot outside of Thane's study. This time it was Pheona looking scared, and Rynu trying to cheer her up.  
"Where will we go? What if they decide not to keep us together?" She whispered with dread, looking over at him.  
"We'll be fine either way. I can try to find you wherever you go." Rynu said, looking at the door as Conintor talked with Thane, his voice calm and collected. They both jumped when the door suddenly opened, Conintor walking outside and Thane exiting after. Conintor walked in front of the children, kneeling in front of them.  
"How would you two like to stay with me, together?" Conintor looked at them both hopefully. "I can't help but think that if we try to get you two new families, you'll be separated and I don't want to do that to you. So, I'm offering you a place in my home. I don't really have a family… but maybe we can be a family together."  
Pheona looked up at him with wide eyes, misting with tears before she nodded softly. Rynu sighed, knowing that if Pheona was staying with him, he would have to as well. He still didn't trust the man, though.  
"Very well, then. I wish you happiness and hope things turn for the better." Thane nodded to him, his eyes stopping on Rynu momentarily before walking back down the hall to tend to his other duties.


	7. Chapter 7

"Um… what do you mean he can't go to the Keep?" Pheona said angrily, her hands on her hips as she looked up at the magi in front of her. Rynu glanced to his cousin with a wry smirk. It didn't matter to her that the magi she was arguing with was not only decades older than her, but was also a master of earth magic and one of the council of Magi from the Keep.  
"I mean- he cannot learn to be a master of earth magic. You children would not understand." The man said gruffly, glancing at Rynu with distrust. "He has shown tendencies of dark magic and a short temper. That is a volatile and unsafe mix for a magi- and therefore, he will not be taught how to be a master of earth magic."  
Rynu glared up at the man, his mouth pressed together to keep himself quiet in his anger. He couldn't help but feel frustrated and hurt that no one would allow him the same chances Pheona had- she had already been given as an apprentice to a fire magi.  
Pheona let out a frustrated yell, her red eyes burning as she looked up at the magi. "That's stupid! Rynu is a nice guy- how could you say such horrible things about him? You don't even know him!" She yelled. Rynu set a hand on his cousins arm, telling her with a glance to stop making a scene.  
"I'll be fine. I'll learn on my own." He said, giving the magi one last glare before pulling Pheona out of the room and shutting the door behind them.  
"I cannot _believe _those people!" Pheona growled angrily. "You're just as much of a magi as the rest of us- why the hell can't you be taught earth magic? You're already better at it than I am with fire. You wouldn't even need as much training." Pheona said, staring at the door with blazing eyes.  
Rynu couldn't help but feel flattered that Pheona- who was normally so calm and nice- was so angry about them not teaching him magic. She must really care for him.  
"I'll be fine. I'll… learn somehow." He said, glancing to the floor uneasily. He didn't even know how to read- he didn't know how he would ever find out the right spells to use…  
He felt a wriggle from inside the large pocket inside his jacket and took Medusa out, who was now long enough to wind around his forearm. She had sensed his unease and looked up at him through the small black cloth he had tied around her eyes ever since she had turned a bird into stone. He figured it was safer that way. He let Medusa slither around his arm, setting her head against the top of his hand.  
"Really- don't worry about me. I can take care of myself." He said, to both of them.  
Pheona looked to him and sighed in defeat. "Alright- but I'm still angry about it." She muttered, glancing at the door one last time before walking down the hallway.

Rynu sighed in boredom as he walked through the streets of Synara. Conintor had another of his… friends… over. He had left to save Conintor the trouble of having to explain why a child wasn't learning magic at the keep when he was obviously a magi.  
The fact that he wasn't allowed to still made him bitter with rage. He should learn to accept it- that had been nearly half a year ago now, but it still angered him.  
"Say kid, why aren't you with your master?" An older teenage boy grinned at Rynu from across the street.  
Rynu ignored him, sending a warning glance his way before continuing walking down the street- he wanted to go to the tea shop to get some kiwi juice.  
"They won't teach you, huh? How old are you- 12? You should already be learning beginning spells by now." The boy grinned cruelly as he walked beside Rynu.  
"And why do you give a crap? Leave me alone." Rynu growled at the man, Medusa slithering to Rynu's shoulders and hissing and baring her fangs at the stranger.  
"Woah- a basilisk! How do you have a basilisk? You're just a kid." The teenager looked at Medusa with wide eyes.  
"Don't mess with her." Rynu said, stopping to glared at the other boy. The teenager smiled mischievously and made a grab for Medusa, the hatchling hissing in fear and hiding herself within Rynu's black tunic.  
"I said leave her alone!" Rynu yelled in anger, turning and punching the boy in the face. The teenager fell to the ground with a groan, wiping the blood of his cheek from a bloody nose. He smiled up at Rynu in satisfaction.  
"That's what I thought. You have dark magic in you, just like the rest of us. You should join with us- leave the rest of these goody goody magi to their spell books and enchantments. We can teach you _real_ magic." The boy raised the sleeve of his shirt, revealing a long serpent moving against his skin- its red eyes glowed and fangs snapping together in threat. It looked like a tattoo of some sort- but obviously tattoos didn't move on their own.  
Rynu couldn't help but be impressed. He had heard of powerful magic, but had never seen it before. Surely this had to be a spell cast by a master.  
A master who was willing to teach him…  
"Where are they?" Rynu said darkly, ignoring Medusa's hiss of horror against his neck.  
The boy stood up, wiping more blood onto his sleeve and sniffed loudly. "Follow me." He said, and started walking down the street.

Rynu looked up at the large stone building in front of him, feeling intimidated by the sheer size of the structure. Medusa hissed in fear against his neck, shaking. He set a hand against her head reassuringly as he walked into the building after the teenager.  
There were dozens of magi inside- and all of them looked up with glares when he walked in. Some were holding creatures, others were talking amongst themselves. In the middle of the room sat three baskets, eggs piled up in them carelessly.  
"And who have you brought today, Carlile?" A smooth voice said, a man approaching them. He flipped back the black hood of his long robe, revealing a man with black hair and strangely enough- black eyes. It was like he had no emotions, and Rynu tried not to show the shiver that ran up his spine from that look.  
"M-my name is Rynu." He said, wanting to curse at himself for stuttering.  
"No need to be afraid, boy. You're welcome here." The man smiled down at him, and glanced to Carlile, who nodded and walked off to his duties. "My name is Demetre. I'm the leader of this particular branch of this group. Were you looking to have a teacher?"  
Rynu nodded, not wanting to say anything else. This man was being too nice- it made him uneasy.  
"Very well- Tam- would you come over here please?" Demetre waved over a red-headed younger man, who looked down at Rynu in surprise. Tam looked up at Demetre in question.  
"This boy would like to learn magic… earth, I'm presuming?" Demetre glanced back down to Rynu.  
Rynu nodded, looking up at Tam. He seemed different from the rest of them… Rynu nodded in answer to Demetre's question.  
"Very good. Tam, please teach this child the basics of earth magic. After that I'll teach him." Demetre said, smiling down at Rynu. Rynu looked into Demetre's eyes, noticing a harsh cruelty in there that made him uneasy… what had he gotten himself into?


	8. Chapter 8

A few weeks later, Rynu followed Tam through the cold stone hallways of the building until they had arrived in a room filled with exotic flowers and vines. The same red banner with a black serpent decorated the wall as the rest of the building- though he didn't know what it meant.  
"You're so young." Tam sighed in dismay, turning around and looking down at Rynu. "How old are you?"  
Rynu looked up at him, his jaw set stubbornly. "I'm 13 now. Old enough to learn magic." He said defiantly- these people weren't rejecting him too, were they?  
"Aye, old enough to learn magic." Tam sighed, running a hand through his wildly red hair. "Not old enough to know better, though. I'll teach you the basics if you promise me one thing." Tam looked down at him with green eyes, his expression suddenly turning grim.  
Rynu nodded, wondering what was so serious.  
"You must promise to never hurt anyone you love with the magic I teach you- no matter what happens, never ever use earth magic to hurt or kill someone who is not attacking you first."  
Oh- well that was easy enough. Conintor had already given him that lecture. Rynu nodded, watching Tam's eyes fill with relief.  
"Maybe you'll be different than the rest of them, then." He sighed. "Alright- first things first. What can you do already?"  
Rynu looked over at one of the vines, putting a hand above it and letting it grow large and thorny underneath his palm. He returned it back to normal and looked over to Tam to see his reaction.  
"Oh, a plant weaver. Alright, well that will make things easier. First we'll start with how to grow a vine from a seed in the ground- they're everywhere, so it's pretty useful…"

Rynu walked into Conintor's cabin, closing the door behind him gently. He turned around to see a blond man with long hair sitting in one of Conintor's plush chairs, his legs crossed and the top leg swinging around idly.  
"Hey, kiddo." The man waved. "What have you been up to?"  
"Nothing much, Novilo." Rynu shrugged. He still hadn't told anyone where he was learning magic- they probably just thought he was roaming the streets for hours on end.  
"Ah, I see." Novilo's purple eyes glinted as he smiled. "Con's over in the other room fixing Pheona and her little friend lunch. You should go get some too if you want."  
Rynu nodded, watching the man as he whistled and made a small paper fold into a hummingbird and fly around the room on a breeze. Rynu rolled his eyes- Novilo was always showing off.  
"Hey Pheona." Rynu said, walking into the kitchen to see Conintor making sandwiches for everyone.  
"Rynu! I was wondering where you'd gone." Pheona turned around and smiled to him. "I wanted to introduce you to a new friend of mine." She motioned to the girl behind her, who turned around curiously.  
Rynu faltered at the sight of her- she was completely different from him- cyan colored eyes watched him intently, her long white hair falling down her back.  
"Her name is Marina. She's a water magi." Pheona said happily, patting Marina on the shoulder.  
"I'm Rynu." He said simply- he couldn't say he was an earth magi. Not when he didn't have any training.  
"Nice to meet you. You guys have such a nice house!" Marina looked around the room, which was decorated in deep shades of green- as was the rest of the cabin.  
"I do try, thank you." Conintor said gruffly beside them, handing Rynu a ham sandwich.  
"Coooon-boooon! We're going to be late!" Novilo shouted from the other room. He poked his head in the doorway, looking at the three children.  
"I hope you kids will be okay by yourselves for just a bit. It's Con's birthday- so I wanted to bring him out for lunch."  
"It's your birthday?" Pheona said in excitement, turning to Conintor as he groaned in pain.  
"Oh Novi, why did you have to tell them? Yes it is, but I really didn't want to make a big deal out of it."  
"Well too bad." Novi said with a wry grin. He grabbed Conintor by the wrist and started dragging him out of the room. "See you kids, try not to burn the place down while we're gone, 'kay?" Novi said over his shoulder as he pushed Conintor out the door.  
"Wait-what?" Conintor shouted in horror before the door closed behind him on a gust of wind.  
"Those two are funny." Marina chuckled.  
Rynu smiled, nodding in agreement. Even if it was a little unorthodox, this home was a good one.

Two years later, Tam sighed while watching as Rynu went through the steps he had taught him. The kid learned quickly. Too quickly.  
"Well… that's about all I can teach you, then." He said when Rynu had finished successfully. Rynu looked up at him with a happy grin, the 15 year old looking more mature every day. It had taken him two years to learn the basic arts of vine-weaving, and the more intricate arts of learning how to grow specific plants.  
"So… what now?" Rynu said in confusion, looking up at the man he had become friends with.  
"Now Demetre teaches you." Tam sighed in dismay. He had been dreading this day for years now…  
"Is that a bad thing?" Rynu watched Tam's reaction in confusion- it was like the man didn't want him anywhere near Demetre. Every time he came to the castle to learn magic, Tam met him and the door and quickly walked with him back to this room.  
"It depends on your viewpoint. He'll make you stronger, but there's a price to every magic. You'll learn that soon enough." Tam said, standing with a sigh and rubbing his shoulder. Rynu noticed the motion- Tam rubbed his left shoulder often, as if the serpent that moved on his arm caused him pain.  
"Alright, let's get going, then. We'll get this over with and move on." Tam said, talking more to himself than Rynu. He stood and led Rynu out of the room, walking back into the large main hall of the castle, where Demetre stood talking with Carlile. Tam suddenly turned around before they entered the hall, taking out something wrapped in a brown cloth from behind his back.  
"Before this happens, I want to give you something to celebrate you learning your basics." Tam said, handing Rynu the object. Rynu smiled up to the man in thanks and unwrapped the cloth, a large curved dagger showing through the cloth. Its outside edge had a wicked set of serrated spikes, the dagger itself nearly as long as his forearm.  
"May it keep you safe when things turn… ugly." Tam said, smiling down at Rynu softly.  
"Thanks, Tam." Rynu smiled, holding the dagger and its hilt in his hands to examine it before sheathing the dagger again.  
"I suggest putting it against your back. That way people won't see it, and it won't be uncomfortable." Tam said, motioning to the outline of his own dagger against the spine of his back.  
Rynu nodded and put the dagger against his own back, tying the leather string that held it in place around his waist.  
"Okay- now let's go see Demetre." Tam said, sounding uneasy again as he pulled Rynu's shirt down over the dagger to hide it, then turned around to walk over to Demetre.


	9. Chapter 9

Demetre smiled down at the boy as he approached, looking up to see Tam's uneasy expression.  
"Thank you Tam, for teaching him." Demetre said, frowning slightly at the way Tam was acting. He waved a hand and Tam's eyes flashed red for a moment before he nodded and walked away.  
Rynu looked at Tam in confusion, then looked back up to Demetre.  
"I will need a few more days before I can start teaching you, Rynu. For now, just take some time off and relax. I will see you back here by the end of the week okay?" Demetre said, his black eyes glinting with excitement.  
Rynu nodded, a feeling of dread running through him. Why was Demetre always so nice to him?  
"Run along now, I have some business to take care of." Demetre waved his hands to shoo Rynu away before walking down a hallway. He opened a door and a shout sounded, cut off suddenly.  
Rynu's eyes widened in shock, wondering what was going on.

Rynu closed the door to Conintor's cabin behind him, sighing in relief to be back home. He looked up to see Pheona and Marina sitting in the livingroom, looking up at him with smiles.  
"Hey, Rynu." Pheona said, pointing to a small board between them. "Wanna join? We're playing Hellhounds and Zalons."  
"I'm winning." Marina said confidently with a grin.  
"Not for long." Rynu grinned at the challenge and sat down beside Marina to play.  
Before long, Marina did win- and Rynu grumbled in defeat.  
"Oh stop being such a sore loser." Marina laughed, hitting Rynu on the shoulder playfully. "I always win- you should get used to it by now."  
"In board games, yeah. Not in other stuff, though." Rynu said, scoffing.  
"Oh here we go again." Pheona sighed in dismay.  
"Well in other stuff you're older than me- so I wouldn't really call that fair." Marina pouted.  
"Oh it's only 4 years- you're 11, right?"  
"That's young!" Marina protested.  
"Enough, enough." Pheona sighed as they bickered. "Honestly, you two fight so much." She rolled her eyes.  
"She started it." Rynu muttered.  
Marina rolled her eyes and sighed, looking down at the board game in front of her. She didn't really want to play anymore.  
"Fine." Rynu growled in frustration as the girls sat silently. He stood up and walked into his room, closing the door behind him.

"Hey-" Conintor opened the door to his room the next day, wondering why Rynu hadn't come out yet. He saw vines covering the walls of the room, looking around in surprise for Rynu, spotting him in the far corner growing another vine beneath his palm.  
"What are you doing?" Conintor asked, walking into the room and looking around.  
"Practicing." Rynu said simply with a shrug. "I figured it would be a good idea."  
Conintor nodded, looking down at the boy in concern. "You've been acting strange lately- is there anything you want to tell me?"  
Rynu glanced over his shoulder at Conintor. "Not really."  
Conintor sighed, closing the door and standing in front of it, leaning against the frame in dismay. Ever since Rynu had come into his home, he had never opened up to Conintor. Conintor glanced at the door, wondering if he ever would.

Rynu walked back into the castle a few days later, seeing Demeter talking with Carlile with a satisfied smile. That look made shivers run up his spine. He walked over to him uneasily, seeing Tam watching with wide eyes from the other side of the room.  
"Ah, Rynu. Good to see you. Are you ready to start your training with me?" Demetre smiled.  
"Yeah. Should I leave Medusa here?" Rynu said, motioning to the basilisk which was wound around his shoulders.  
Demetre's face fell from his grin, looking mildly annoyed at the creature. "Ah, yes. I would leave her here with someone. She won't be needed."  
Rynu nodded, taking Medusa into his hands and walking over to Tam. Tam took the serpent, looking at him with wide eyes.  
"Be careful, kid. Don't fight him." Tam said softly, hoping Demetre wouldn't hear him. Rynu looked up at him in confusion, but nodded.

He followed Demetre into the hallway he had gone down the other day, Demetre leading him into a room before letting him go in first and closing the door once they were both in. Rynu stared at the room with wide eyes- there was blood all over the floor and walls, shackles hanging from the wall dripping blood into a pool of liquid.  
"What-" Rynu turned around in horror as Demetre's smile turned wicked.  
"It's time for your training. First lesson- always obey me. I am far more powerful than you could ever hope to be- so if you do not wish to see your loved ones kills, I would suggest you listen."  
Rynu stood in shock, looking up at the man who had been so nice to him suddenly turn so dark. He glared at the man, but nodded.  
"Good. Now we'll get started with learning the magic." Demetre smiled. He snapped a finger, a woman appearing within the shackles, blood oozing out of the cuts on her body, falling to the pool of blood on the ground.  
"Hey!" Rynu shouted in horror at the sight, rushing over to the woman to try and help her out of her bindings. Demetre sighed in dismay behind him, shaking his head.  
"I see we're going to have to do this the hard way. Pity." Demetre sighed, bringing up a hand. He let loose a stream of black magic, hitting Rynu in the back as he hurried to help the woman.  
Rynu yelled in agony from the burn of the magic, the world fading into darkness around him.

Rynu woke up groggily, holding his head as he sat up. He groaned in pain as his body ached all over, his eyes clenched shut from the pain.  
He opened them slowly, looking around at the room he was in and yelling in shock. Blood covered the walls, large arches of it telling of the violence that had happened in the room. He looked down at himself and found himself covered in the blood, his clothes soaked with it. He felt a burning on his shoulder and pulled up his sleeve, wiping the blood away to see a black serpent writhing against his skin, the tattoo the same as Tam and Carlile's. He looked around for the woman but saw her nowhere- he was alone in the room.


	10. Chapter 10

"Rynu?" Tam opened the door to the room cautiously, looking around with wide eyes at the blood covering the walls and the floor. He saw Rynu sitting in the corner against the wall, his legs tucked up against his front. "Rynu- are you okay?"  
Rynu looked up at his name being called, his green eyes wide as he stared at Tam. "What did he do?"  
"You've been cursed like the rest of us." Tam walked into the room, keeping the door open only a crack behind him. He walked over to Rynu, kneeling down next to him in concern. "I want you to run- run home, as fast as you can and never come back to this place. Try to convince your father to move away- far away. Get away from Demetre as quickly as you can." Tam said softly, putting his hands on Rynu's shoulders to get attention.  
Rynu looked up at Tam in confusion, remaining silent. "He'll try to find me." He said at last.  
"I know. He'll try to find you, and maybe he will. But you need to try and run. This man isn't like magi- he's… insane." Tam looked over his shoulder, making sure no one was listening. "I've made it so that you can sneak out of the castle without anyone noticing you. As long as Carlile doesn't see you, you should be fine."  
"What about you?" Rynu looked up at his friend, who smiled painfully.  
"I'll probably never get away from this man. I've been cursed for too long. You have a chance though- just get home, and stay home. You're too young for all this shit." He spat, looking around the room in disgust.  
"What did he do to her?" Rynu looked at the spot the woman had been sitting in.  
Tam looked over to where he was staring, suddenly looking uncomfortable as he stared at the strangely jelly-like blood covering the ground. "He… killed her."  
Rynu's face contorted with horror as he looked at the blood covering his body. He stood quickly, body shaking as he looked up at Tam. "You're right- I need to get out of here."  
"I'm glad you see it my way- now be careful, and if things go wrong, use your dagger to get out." Tam led Rynu over to the door, opening it and looking out to see if the hallway was clear before guiding Rynu into the shadows at the side of the doorway.  
"Good luck, kid. I hope you get away." Tam smiled down to Rynu before he pushed him away toward the door of the castle.

Rynu ran along the edge of the street of Synara, leaving bloody footprints in the dirt behind him. He ignored people's stares as he sprinted as fast as he could toward Conintor's cabin, running around it and splashing into the stream in the back. He waded up to his knees, frantically scrubbing the blood out of his clothes, looking down as it streamed down into the water.  
"Rynu?" Conintor looked out the back door of the cabin and ran over in panic when he saw the blood in the water. He waded in after Rynu, standing in front of him. "What the hell happened? Are you okay?" He asked, turning Rynu around to get a good look at him.  
Rynu shook as he looked up at Conintor, his eyes wide. He didn't say anything, just stood dripping with water in front of the man.  
"Answer me, Rynu- are you okay? Do I need to get the healing herbs?" Conintor put his hands on Rynu's shoulders in concern at his silence. Usually at least the boy answered sarcastically. It worried Conintor that he didn't answer at all.  
Rynu bit his lip, his green eyes widening. He leaned against Conintor, crying into the man's shirt in deep sobs, gripping fistfuls of his shirt.  
Conintor looked down at Rynu in worry, hugging him tightly in reassurance. "I don't know what happened Rynu, but you'll be okay. You're home, and you're safe." He said softly, noticing a black mark on the skin of his shoulder through his ripped shirt. He reached a hand down and moved the sleeve up to see a black serpent tattoo against his skin and looked down at Rynu in shock. What had he been getting into this whole time?

Rynu sat in the living room in clean clothes and washed hair, shaking in shock as Conintor talked with Novilo in the other room. He looked up as they started talking harsher for a minute, Novilo looking over at him in concern from the doorway. The air magi walked over to him, his purple robes ruffling as he kneeled next to Rynu.  
"Would you mind raising your sleeve for me, bud?" He said in concern. "I'd like to see that tattoo of yours."  
Rynu looked at him uneasily, before glancing up at Conintor, who stood in the doorway of the kitchen, leaning against the frame and watching in concern. "Is he angry with me?"  
"Who, Con? No- he's worried about you. We both are." Novilo smiled reassuringly.  
Rynu looked over to Conintor, who nodded in reassurance. He sighed and raised the sleeve of the shirt Conintor had given him, revealing the tattoo that marred his skin, the area around it red with irritation at the new marking.  
"You were right Con, it's the Brotherhood serpent." Novilo sighed in dismay. "Rynu- have you been hanging around the Brotherhood lately?"  
"What's the brotherhood?" Rynu said in confusion- is what where Demetre was?  
Novilo sighed again. "The Brotherhood is a group of people who tend to do more… nefarious deeds in the world. They're not good people, and it would be best if you stayed away from them."  
Rynu groaned in pain, covering his face with his hands. "I didn't know- they were the only people who would teach me magic- I just want to be a magi like you guys- I'm tired of being treated like I'm stupid or tainted."  
Novilo looked at Rynu sadly, ruffling his curly black hair. "I'm sorry the Keep wouldn't take you kiddo, but asking the Brotherhood to teach you probably wasn't a good idea. You could have asked Con to teach you." Novilo looked back at the other man, who shook his head.  
"Rynu has a different type of earth magic than I do. He uses plants- I use stone. They're two entirely different studies."  
Novilo looked back at Rynu sadly. "Either way, you should rely on the people you know. We're here to help you."  
Rynu nodded, looking sheepishly up to Novilo. "Thanks."  
"No problem, kid." Novilo smiled in relief. "Uncle Novi is here for you if you need me. So is Con."  
"Whatever they got you into, I'll try and find a way out of it. I'm not angry with you, just angry at them for messing with such a young boy. You couldn't have known better." Conintor said, glaring in the direction of the castle with hard green eyes.  
"See? Con is going to go kick their ass. You're going to be fine." Novilo chuckled.  
Rynu nodded, not sure if they knew who they were talking about- Demetre seemed stronger than anyone he had ever met. He wasn't sure if Conintor could beat him or not, but he didn't want him to try.


	11. Chapter 11

Rynu was sitting on the chair in the living room, his head leaning in his hands as he tried to calm down from what had happened the day before. He was home, and he was safe- he had to keep telling himself that. Novi was in the kitchen making lunch for them, and Conintor was out in Synara to discuss something with someone. He wouldn't tell Rynu who or what he was doing.  
He looked up as the door slammed open, Pheona rushing inside and looking around. She spotted him in the chair and ran over to him, Marina close behind.  
"Oh Gods- Are you alright, Rynu? I came as soon as I heard what happened- Conintor said you were hurt." Pheona asked, looking him over quickly.  
"If you need any healing I've learned a bit." Marina added, looking just as panicked.  
"I'm fine now." Rynu said, not really wanting to have the girls panic. "I wasn't really hurt. Just…" Rynu glanced down at his shoulder where the tattoo was. Pheona looked over at his arm and gasped, gripping his shoulder and raising the sleeve to get a better look at the marking.  
"What happened, Rynu? Who did this to you?" Pheona asked softly, looking up at Rynu in concern.  
"I didn't know they would be so bad. I just wanted to be like you guys, and learn magic too." He said, looking miserably to the floor. "I've really messed up."  
Pheona and Marina shared a worried glance and looked back to Rynu. "It'll be okay- you got away from them, right? They can't find you here."  
Rynu looked up at the girls, laughing sarcastically. "I wouldn't be so sure about that. That guy was nuts- I don't want him finding either of you." He rested his eyes on Marina, then looked away. He especially didn't want Demetre to find the girls.  
"Don't worry about us- I'm more concerned about you. What did he do that scared you so much?" Marina said, having never seen Rynu so frightened. Usually he was tougher- never afraid of anything. Now he was shaking, his green eyes haunted.  
"He… took me to a room, and there was a woman there… I tried to help her, I really did." Rynu's voice hitched as he tried not to let his emotions overtake him again. "He knocked me out, and when I woke up I had this tattoo."  
Pheona reached up and hugged Rynu tightly as he started shaking again. "I'm sorry, Rynu. Are you going to be okay?"  
"I think so. I'm not sure." Rynu said, glancing down at the tattoo. It wasn't moving, though he had seen Carlile's slithering against his skin. Maybe his was just a regular tattoo, and nothing special…  
"Well we'll be here if you need us. Just try to relax, and lay low for a while. We'll go get some kiwi juice, okay?" Pheona stood, straightening out her red and golden robes.  
"Thanks, cuz." Rynu said, smiling up at her meekly. Pheona knew what he liked- she was trying to cheer him up. He sunk back against the chair as they walked back out of the cabin, wondering what he was going to do while he 'laid low' here.

"Clean the stables?" Rynu wrinkled his nose in disgust. Conintor laughed at the face and nodded.  
"Needs to be done, and I'd like the help if you're willing to give it. I could give you some gold for it if you want." Conintor looked over at the elks in the stable, who looked excited at the thought of having their stalls cleaned.  
"I guess so." Rynu said uneasily, looking over at the elks. "Will they bite me?"  
"Only if you make them angry." Conintor chuckled. "If you don't want to that's fine, I just thought it would be good to give you something to do instead of just sitting around all day."  
Rynu nodded, letting out a long sigh. The last few months had been a series of boring days- always sitting around and having nothing to do, afraid of going out and being seen by Carlile.  
He picked up the pitchfork leaning against the outside of the stable and started cleaning, Conintor smiling behind him.  
"Thanks, bud. After you're done I can go get you something if you'd like." Conintor said, smiling and walking back inside.  
Rynu lifted the pitchfork with a grunt of effort, throwing the contents over his shoulder and huffed from the effort. This was a lot harder than it looked…

"My my, look at you." Pheona said behind Rynu as he easily hefted the pitchfork, making him turn around to see her. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, smirking at her amused expression.  
"What?" He asked, looking back at the half cleaned stables behind him.  
"This past year has been good to you, cousin." Pheona looked at him with a wry smile. "Look at your arms- jeez, no wonder you can lift that thing so easily."  
Rynu looked down at his muscular arms and shrugged. "I do it every day."  
"Yes, you do… speaking of which, have you forgotten what day it is?" Pheona chuckled.  
"Uh…" Rynu thought for a minute. "What day is it? Is something going on?"  
"It's your birthday, stupid!" Pheona laughed. Rynu looked at her in surprise and counted on his fingers for a minute before putting a hand up to his forehead in dismay. She was right- he had totally forgotten his birthday.  
"Happy 16th birthday, Rynu." Pheona said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a pair of fingerless leather gloves. He looked at them curiously, slipping them on his hands- they fit perfectly.  
"I see you practicing with that dagger of yours sometimes, and it slips out of your hands. These will help you grip better." She smiled happily.  
Rynu looked down at the gloves and smiled at his cousin happily. "Thanks, Phe- I love them."  
Pheona smiled, glad that Rynu liked them. "Marina is stopping buy later on today. I would clean up a bit before she gets here." Pheona chuckled.  
Rynu looked down at himself and wrinkled his nose in disgust at the dirt and manure covering his pants and shirt. "Yeah, probably a good idea."

Rynu was putting on a new shirt when he heard Pheona giggle in amusement from the kitchen. He finished dressing and walked out, wondering what she was so amused about. She looked up at him as he walked in and pointed to the frame of a door, which had markings of lines at certain points on it, a 'P' or an 'R' next to the lines.  
"Look, you're almost as tall as Conintor." Pheona pointed up to the 'C' at the top line. Rynu smiled warmly at the frame, memories of Conintor measuring them every birthday coming through his mind.  
"Alright, stand straight- I'm going to measure you this time. Conintor is out with Novilo for a while." Phoena pointed to the frame, a small piece of charcoal in her hand.  
"I don't know if you can reach that tall." Rynu laughed in amusement, looking at the same marks in the same spot for the last several years for her.  
"Oh shut up." Pheona pouted as he moved over toward the frame, standing in front of it. Pheona stood on her tip toes to reach above his head but could only reach up to his forehead.  
"Dammit." She muttered, storming away into the other room as Rynu tried not to laugh. She came back in with a chair, setting it down and climbing onto it, making the mark before quickly climbing back down again.  
"Don't make that face- it's not funny." Pheona said defensively.  
"I'm not making a face." Rynu said, still trying not to laugh at Pheona's flush of embarrassment. "You're short- it's not a big deal. Some guys like short girls."  
Pheona sighed in dismay. "I suppose. It's just annoying because I can't reach anything."  
Rynu smiled over to her, looking up as a knock came from the door. "Is that Marina?"  
"Must be." Pheona said, opening the door to let her in. Marina ran over to Rynu, looking up at him with a smile and handed a green wrapped package to him.  
"Happy birthday, Rynu." She smiled.  
Rynu opened it and looked down into the small box, taking out a small leather bound book. He looked down at it, smiling in amusement.  
"I had a heck of a time trying to figure out the right earth book to get you- finally I just wound up asking one of the magi in The Keep. He said this was a good one to learn some spells from." Marina said, hoping he'd like it.  
Rynu looked up at her, smiling warmly. "I love it- hopefully I can learn some things from it."  
Marina smiled happily, Pheona hiding a smile behind her hand.  
Obviously Marina didn't know that Rynu couldn't read.


	12. Chapter 12

"No, that's not an 'n'." Pheona sighed in frustration.  
"Well then what the hell is it?" Rynu looked down at the letters he had drawn in frustration.  
"It's an M- there are two bumps instead of one- so it's an M, not an N." Pheona sighed.  
"Who made them so similar? That's stupid." Rynu growled in frustration, looking down at the letters in front of him. It had been a few weeks since Marina had given him the book- and he wanted to learn how to read it.  
"I don't know who made it, but you have to learn letters first before anything else." Pheona sighed. They had been doing this for hours now- she was starting to get tired.  
Rynu looked down at the chalkboard in front of him, a dark glare on his face.  
"Don't look at the board like that, you'll break it." Pheona rolled her eyes. "Let's take a break for a while. We're both tired."  
Rynu nodded and stood, stretching his arms with a groan. "How have your studies at the Keep going? Aren't you almost done?" Rynu glanced down at Pheona mid-stretch.  
"Yeah, almost. I still have a few more months left of lessons. Hey Rynu, I was wondering… how would you feel if I rebuilt Avalon?" Pheona looked up at him to see his reaction.  
Rynu glanced down at her in surprise. "Rebuild- like, exactly how it used to be?" He asked.  
"Yeah- the cabin, work on some of the brush that's grown over the garden now." Pheona said wistfully. They had visited Avalon a while back- the forest was starting to take back the ruins of the burned cabin that stood in the middle of the keep. Most of the creatures had remained there, not really knowing where else to go.  
"I'd like that- Avalon needs to have creatures there again. Are you thinking of taking it over?" Rynu asked, smiling softly at the memories from Avalon.  
"I was thinking about it, yeah. I didn't like seeing all those creatures there alone with no magi to take care of them. They looked so lost."  
Rynu nodded, smiling over to Pheona. "Go for it- it'll be good to be able to visit Avalon again."

Rynu was moving more hay into the stall of one of the elks when he heard something behind him. He turned around, looking in confusion when he saw nothing there. He shrugged and continued his work, setting the hay down in the stall before turning back around to see a man in the doorway of the stable, smiling.  
"Hello, Rynu. Haven't seen you in a while." The man sneered. "My how you've grown."  
Rynu's eyes narrowed as he looked at Carlile, gritting his teeth in anger. He knew this day would come- but he had hoped it wouldn't be so soon.  
"The house of a stable keeper, hmm? Interesting place to live. That magi I saw earlier must be related to you." Carlile's smile widened. "She's very pretty."  
Rynu let out a low growl of warning. "Stay away from her."  
"Oh, protective are we? Well I suppose that's a good thing in this case. No one runs from the Brotherhood, Rynu. We've found you- and now you have to come back to us."  
"Or what?" Rynu scoffed. There was _no way_ he was going back to that place without a fight.  
"Or we'll take that little magi." Carlile smiled. "And we'll do the same thing to her that we did to you."  
Rynu froze, his eyes wide. He knew Pheona wouldn't be able to take what he had gone through- she would either go insane, or she would die from it.  
"Ah, so you see the deal, then. If you come back to us, your family will live. If you run to save yourself, your family will die."  
Rynu looked at the ground as he fought with himself. What if they killed Pheona and Conintor even if he went back? Were they so cruel to do something like that?  
He couldn't trust him- he knew that was certain- but he also knew that if he left, they would definitely kill Pheona and Conintor.  
He didn't have much of a choice.  
"Fine." Rynu said bitterly. "But I have to have a few days first."  
"Excellent. Remember what I said, Rynu. If you run…"  
"Yeah, I know." Rynu spat, looking up at the man with hatred. Carlile only smiled, turning around and walking back down the street with a happy whistle.

Rynu slammed the door shut behind him, growling in anger at the thought of going back to those people. What a low handed move- threatening his family if he didn't go back…  
What was he going to do? He couldn't tell them what happened- Conintor would only try and go fight them, and Pheona would do the same. Damn those two and their tempers.  
No, he would have to go back on his own… but make it so they wouldn't follow him.  
Rynu walked over and flopped himself down in the big green plush chair in the living room, setting his forehead in his palm as he thought.  
He had to make them angry- take out all his frustration on him so that they wouldn't ever want him back. The thought of doing something like that made his chest twist, but he knew it had to be done. Conintor would have to be first- the man cared for Rynu too much to let him go easily. He stood up and walked over to his room to start packing what few possessions he had.

"Rynu? You in here?" Conintor opened the door to Rynu's room to see things scattered all across the floor, Medusa watching him from the bed in confusion. "What are you doing?"  
"Packing." Rynu said gruffly, shoving a few more tunics into a large bag, not caring if they were folded or not. He glanced up to Conintor and continued shoving things in the bag.  
"Why?" Conintor asked, trying not to sound as hurt as he felt.  
"I can't stand it here anymore. I need to leave." Rynu said quickly, pausing for a minute before grabbing a small book and shoving it inside the bag as well.  
Conintor watched him for silence for a bit, leaning against the door frame in his shock. "Was there something I said?"  
"No- I just can't be here. I'm…" Rynu froze, his shoulders tensing. "I'm sick of being in this house- especially with two guys like that. I just can't deal with it anymore."  
Conintor watched the younger man with wide eyes. "You seriously feel that way, after all this time?" He had never said anything…  
"Of course! All normal people think that way." Rynu growled in anger before closing the bag, hoisting it over his shoulder. He held out a hand to Medusa on the bed, who cautiously slithered up his arm to rest on his shoulders. He shouldered Conintor aside in the doorway, walking loudly over to the door.  
"Rynu wait- we can talk through this." Conintor walked after him.  
"No. I don't want to talk. No matter what you say to me, the fact of what you… what you are, will never change." Rynu glared up at Conintor before opening the door and closing it behind him. He paused for a minute outside the door, trying not to let his emotions show before walking down the street, trying not to look back at Conintor as he watched him from the window.


	13. Chapter 13

Rynu knew where Pheona was… since she had been getting near the end of her studies, she had decided to re-build Avalon to exactly how it was. He knew she already had a few creatures there- but not many.  
How could he make his cousin hate him? The thought was hard to fathom. Pheona had been there for him since they were small children… the thought of making her angry enough to hate him like that made him shudder.  
Upsetting a fire magi like that was probably not the best idea- but it had to be done.  
"Pheona?" Rynu looked through the forest, noticing the charred trees around the edge of the clearing. The place had regrown in the years since the fire, the forest reclaiming what had been lost.  
Rynu stared at the spot he remembered Vitali died in, then the scorched ground where Raoul's body had been. How could Pheona think to live where her parents had died?  
He would never understand how women felt.  
He looked over to see Pheona leaning against a tree, her brow shining with sweat as she held a shovel in her hand. He hoisted his backpack higher on his shoulder and walked over, hardening his expression as she looked up and smiled.  
"Hey Rynu, why so glum?" She tilted her head curiously at his dark glare.  
"I need an enox." Rynu growled angrily. "It's important."  
Pheona blinked in confusion. "I only have one, though- and he's helping me get rid of the dark magic that's all over the ground. Why are you so angry?"  
"Just give it to me, Pheona!" Rynu yelled, hating himself for causing the sudden fear in her eyes.  
"No, Rynu. I need to get rid of the dark magic, or the unicorns can't step on the ground. They want to help." Pheona yelled back, her red eyes filling with anger.  
"Like I give a shit about the unicorns." Rynu hissed, glancing up to see the light and dark unicorns in the distance.  
"You can't say that, they've done so much for us." Pheona gasped in shock. "Amalthea really cares for you, you know."  
Rynu looked at the dark unicorn, then glanced away with pain. Her purple eyes were piercing- filling with sorrow at his words.  
"I don't care what they've done. " He insisted, looking back to Pheona's angry expression. He heard a snort of disgust from one of the unicorns, the light unicorn leading the dark unicorn away as she hung her head sadly.  
He knew he couldn't lie to her- she would come looking for him, and he knew she would insist on him coming back. Damn her compassion, it would drive him mad. "I'm going back to the Brotherhood."  
Pheona stared at him, her eyes widening in horror. "What? Why?"  
"They seem to understand the idea of magic better than anyone else. I'll become stronger, and I'll finally be able to be as good as you."  
Pheona gritted her teeth. "Is that what this is about? You're jealous of me because I went to The Keep to train, and they wouldn't let you?" She glared at him angrily, then gasped. "What did you say to Con?"  
"I told him what I thought of him." Rynu growled back.  
Pheona stared at him, trying to figure out what that meant before letting out an angry growl and shoving him away. "I cannot believe you! After all everyone has ever done for you, you just decide to shove them away like this? Just so you can have more magic and feel good about yourself?" She yelled, her voice echoing through the trees.  
"You wouldn't understand. You never did. You may be my cousin, but that doesn't mean you know me at all." Rynu yelled right back. "Ever since you've been training all you've talked about is 'magic this' and 'study that'. I'm fucking sick of it! I'm going somewhere where they'll appreciate me and help me become what I want to be. Not what I am."  
Pheona stared at him, pain filling her eyes as anger filled her. "Fine, then go! See if I give a shit about what you do!" She yelled, flames licking at her hands as she pointed to him angrily. "But if I see you so much as come near Conintor again I'll bake you alive. You probably hurt him a lot with that big damn mouth of yours." She hissed.  
"See if I care." Rynu growled and turned away. He walked back through the forest as he heard Pheona mumble something behind his back. He tried not to flinch when the shovel in her hand burst into flames, the wood burning and the metal melting to a puddle on the grass.  
"Damn it!" She yelled, kicking the cooling pool of metal across the clearing in anger.

Rynu set his bad down in the small room of the inn, glancing around at the dingy setting with dismay. He might as well get used to this kind of place, since he would probably stay here a lot until he found some sort of way to make more gold.  
He let Medusa slither down his arm, looking down at her as she tilted her head curiously.  
"I had to do it, Medusa. They can't follow me to the Brotherhood, and there wasn't any other way." Rynu sighed as he thought about how alone he was now. His parents were dead, his aunt and uncle were dead, and the only family he had left hated him now.  
He sat down on the lumpy bed beside Medusa, putting his face in his hands as he tried to control the emotions trying to overtake him. It seemed that his fate was always to be alone. How had he ever believed there was any other way?  
He looked up in surprise as the door slammed open, someone walking into the room. He met fury within cyan eyes and froze, staring for a minute at Marina as she fumed.  
Damn she was getting pretty as she grew… but all those soft features were currently twisted in absolute anger at him.  
"What did you do to Conintor?" She yelled, pointing in the direction Conintor's stables were.  
"I'm going back to the Brotherhood, I told him what I felt." Rynu growled.  
Marina stared at him and scoffed in disgust. "You told him you _hated_ him? The man who has been your father for the last 8 years, and you _hate_ him?"  
"He's gay." Rynu said simply, but that only flared Marina's anger more.  
"So what? He's your damn father Rynu, or as much of one as you're going to get. You've never said anything about hating the fact that he's gay. Why tell him now, just before you left? Are you that much of a coward?"  
Rynu stared up at her, wishing he didn't have to do this… he had hoped to keep at least one person from his life who didn't despise him.  
Oh well.  
He stood, using his height as an intimidation to her, but couldn't help but be amused when all she did was stare up at him with the same angry expression. Leave it to Marina to stand in front of a large angry man and have no fear.  
"I'm going back, and that's that. I'm not changing my mind." He said firmly, giving his best stern glare.  
Marina stared up at him, her own eyes filling with pain. "So you're just leaving? Just like that? You weren't even going to say goodbye to me, were you?"  
Rynu ignored the twisting in his stomach and glared. "No, I wasn't." He said simply, crossing his arms.  
He couldn't help but falter as tears started to well up in her eyes as she gritted her teeth. "Fine. Be that way." She whispered, and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind her.  
Rynu stared after her, flinching at the angry pain that ate at him. What had he done?  
He felt some sort of emptiness inside him he had never felt before. He sat down as his chest clenched, emotions overflowing so that tears stung at his eyes. What was wrong with him?  
Medusa looked up at him, forming the end of her tail into a heart.  
"No… no, I can't…" Rynu stuttered, but knew she was right. Damn it, he had fallen in love.  
Well… that wouldn't last long. He had a feeling that whatever happened while was in the Brotherhood, he would have to emotionally lock himself away.  
He laid down on the bed, staring at the ceiling as his emotions roiled inside him. Apparently destroying your life could be achieved fairly quickly.  
He let out a long sigh and put his arm over his face, smiling softly as Medusa slithered over to him and coiled up on his stomach. He rested his other hand on her cold scales and tried to get some sleep.


	14. Chapter 14

:t-fear:

Ch. 14

Rynu looked at the small satchel in his hands, hating to let go of what few possessions he had… but he had a feeling if he brought them with him, he'd never see them again. He looked over at Conintor's stables and snuck over to one of the stalls. He flinched when Conintor's elk looked over at him, the bells hung around her neck jingling loudly. He put a finger to his mouth to keep her quiet and leaned down, setting the bag in a pile of straw and putting some of the straw over it. He padded it down carefully and looked down at the one possession he had kept out. The small leather bound book felt awkward in his hand, since he still didn't know how to read it. He didn't know why he wanted to keep it so badly, but he stashed it in his pocket and ran out of the stable silently.

Rynu opened the door of the castle, looking at the guard with a dark glare before entering the dark main room. The people inside stared at him as he walked over to Carline, his green eyes hard and emotionless as he stopped in front of the older man.

"I'm here." He muttered angrily.

"I see that." Carlile smiled in satisfaction. "I'll go get Demetre." He said, walking down the hall as Rynu struggled not to show the raw panic that shot through him at the mention of the leader's name.

He glanced around, but saw no sign of Tam anywhere… where was he?

"I see you've decided to make the wise decision and come back within our ranks." Demetre smiled, looking at him with interest. "My, you've grown quite a bit, haven't you? You look quite strong."

Rynu didn't say anything, just continued to glare at the man, his eyes narrowing skeptically at the compliment.

"Oh, now no need to get so angry." Demetre frowned. "I invested a lot in you boy, and you decided to run away before I had a chance to finish the spell."

Rynu's eyes widened in surprise at the comment, taking a quick glance at the tattoo that had been embedded in his skin the last time he had been here.

"I'll ready the others." Carlile said, walking down the hall toward the room at the far back.

"Will you come with us willingly, then?" Demetre tilted his head curiously.

"I'm not going anywhere other than here. I'm back with you, and that's all you'll get from me." Rynu growled.

"Pity. Well, we'll have to do this the hard way then." Demetre sighed, but raised his hands with a happy smile. Rynu froze as black magic started swirling from the man's fingertips, surrounding him until everything around him was darkness. The magic seeped into his skin, burning his flesh with searing pain until it was too much. He heard the faint laughter of Demetre's amusement as he fell to the ground unconscious.

"Kid, wake up." A familiar voice said, the sensation of being shaken bringing Rynu back to the world. He startled and yelled, looking around him wildly and reaching for the knife at his back- but it was gone.

"What?" Rynu felt his face, unable to see anything- all he heard were garbled voices around him.

"Calm down, Rynu!" strong hands grabbed at his flailing arms. "There's not enough room in here for you to freak out like this.

Rynu faltered, feeling cold stone beneath him. What was going on? "Who are you, where am I? Why can I not see?" He blinked a few times, hoping that would fix things- but it just made him dizzy.

"The spell probably overloaded you for a while. You've been sleeping for days. Just calm down and I'll explain everything. I'm Tam, remember?"

Rynu froze, looking in the direction the voice was coming from. "Tam?" He asked cautiously.

"Yes, now just keep quiet. I don't want the guards coming to take anyone yet." The older man hissed.

"What's going on?" Rynu said in concern. He didn't like the sound of what he had said… come to think of it, he could hear someone else breathing in the room too.

"We're in the Raza jungle from the sounds from outside. I haven't been able to see outside since I got here though, so I'm not sure." Tam answered in a soft voice, trying to be quiet.

"How did I get all the way to Raza?" Rynu said in shock. "Who brought me here?"

"Demetre did." A female voice said, anger lacing her voice. "he brought all of us here, damn him."

"Shush Dela, he's in shock." Tam said, then firmed his grip on Rynu's shoulders. "Are you going to be okay?"

Rynu nodded, his vision starting to clear a bit so that he saw shadows of what was around him. There were two other people in the small room, which should have been suited for only one. He hissed suddenly in pain as his shoulder burned, the other two flinching suddenly as well.

"What did he do to me?" He held the tattoo in shock as it burned.

"He's cursed you. Can't you feel it in your head?" Dela said, her voice sad. "He tries to take us over."

Rynu stared at her shadowed form in terror. "What? Something's in my head?" He gripped his hair, as if that would pull whatever it was out.

"It probably won't start talking until later. Just try and get some rest." Tam said soothingly.

Rynu looked to the man, his vision clearing a bit more to reveal Tam's concerned face, a long and jagged cut covering his face over his eye, which was puffed and swollen in protest.

"Gods, what happened?" Rynu gasped at the injury.

"You'll see soon enough." Tam said grimly, looking to the small door at the other side of the room as someone walked past. "Just relax for now, you'll need all the rest you can get."

Rynu nodded uneasily and leaned back against the wall behind him. He had no idea why he was hear, but from the injury on Tam's face it couldn't be anything good. He looked around and spotted Medusa curled in the corner of the room, sleeping just as soundly as he had been and sighed in relief. At least she was still there.

"NO! Let me GO!" A screeching woman's voice woke Rynu up, Tam yelling from across the room as he woke up as well, scrambling for her as she was dragged out the door by her hair. The man kicked Tam back as he grabbed for Dela's hands when she was drug away, screaming and flailing in protest.

"What the hell?" Rynu shouted angrily, lunging for the woman as well, but only got a good kick to the face as a result. He reeled back as stars filled his vision and he staggered backward in pain.

"Tam, help!" She screamed as the door slammed behind them when she was taken into the hall.

"Dela!" Tam yelled as he beat on the door angrily. "Damn it!" He hissed in anger, setting his forehead against the rough wood in frustration.

"What happened, where is he taking her?" Rynu watched Tam's reaction with confusion.

"He's taking her to the chamber." Tam said angrily, his fist hitting the door one last time. "He should have taken me again."

"Who is she?" Rynu asked.

"She's my older sister. She got trapped here because of me, and now she's going to be tortured again. I can't stand this!" Tam stood and kicked the door, flinching in pain when his threadbare shoe hit the wood.

"Tortured? Why?" Rynu stared at Tam with wide eyes.

To destroy you. A voice hissed in his head. Rynu hissed in panic, gripping his hair. "What was that?" He gasped in terror.

"The voice started talking, huh?" Tam looked over at him sadly. "Unfortunately now that it's started, it won't stop until you're gone."

I will destroy you, and take your body for myself. The voice hissed happily. I will make you a powerful magi- more powerful than your cousin or that man.

"Gods, this thing… it knows me." Rynu whispered, his eyes wide in panic.

"It reads your mind to try and find your weakness. Show your tattoo." Tam walked over to him and kneeled next to him.

Rynu watched him for a moment in hesitation before lifting his black tunic to revealing the serpent tattoo. He gasped as he saw it writhing across his skin, the normally black ink turned purple with glowing red eyes as it slithered across his arm.

"You're already pretty far gone, aren't you?" Tam said in dismay. "Have you dealt with dark magic before?"

Rynu frowned uneasily. "When I killed a sorcerer." He whispered. "Why?"

"You probably won't last very long, kid." Tam whispered sadly. "But I'll take care of you two as best I can until we can figure a way out of this hell hole."

Rynu nodded, lowering his sleeve as his skin continued to burn. This was very bad.

Rynu and Tam looked up as the door opened, the large guard throwing Dela back into the room. She groaned on the floor as blood pooled beneath her onto the stones.

"You." The guard pointed to Rynu, who stared at him in terror.

"No- take me." Tam scrambled forward in front of Rynu. "He's just a kid."

"No, he said for me to take him. The dark one." The guard kicked at Tam to keep him away as he grabbed Rynu's wrist, his large grubby hands painful as he dragged him away.

"Just take care of her." Rynu pointed to the woman as he was drug out of the room, the door slamming shut behind him.

Rynu walked willingly behind the man, staring at the doors around them. The hallway was lined with them- voices from behind each door telling that each room was occupied.

"In." The man said, opening a door and shoving Rynu inside. Rynu fell to his knees when he lost his balance, glaring back at the guard as he slammed the door shut and bolted it.

"Ah, Rynu." A voice said in amusement, making Rynu freeze and stare forward to see Demetre smiling happily to him. "I was hoping you wouldn't struggle too much. Wouldn't want to get hurt, would we?"

"To go hell." Rynu spat, standing up and clenching his fists angrily.

"Gladly, but first I must see to your death as well." Demetre smiled wryly. Rynu looked at him in confusion when he noticed wrinkles around Demetre's eyes that hadn't been there a few days ago. What was this nutcase up to?

"I see you will not be cooperative." Demetre sighed as if disappointed. "That is unfortunate… for you."

Rynu flinched as a tendril of magic lashed out and grabbed him by the wrist, pulling him down to the ground so that he knelt in front of Demetre.

"So then, Rynu. Will you agree to do anything I say? Will you become a powerful magi, and be able to defeat any other who crosses your path? Just think about it- absolute power. You could do anything you wanted." Demetre tilted his head as he smiled, waiting for Rynu's reaction.

"Fuck you." Rynu growled, spitting at Demetre's feet.

Demetre let out an angry yell, the black tendril from his other hand lashing out at Rynu's back, cutting a deep scar into his flesh. Rynu gasped for breath as pain throbbed through his spine. He gasped in terror as the tendril lifted him into the air, pinning him to a wall behind him.

Demetre walked over to him, holding his chin painfully with one of his hands. "I will destroy everything you are, boy. I will take you for myself and use you how I want, and you'll never be able to stop me."

Rynu only bared his teeth in anger, starting to struggle against the magic.

"Idiot boy." Demetre growled as he started lashing Rynu on the chest, the black tendril ripping away shreds of clothing with each blow.

Rynu closed his eyes, his fists clenched as his sides as his teeth clenched so hard his jaws hurt. He would make it through this somehow… he would live, and he would kill this bastard.


End file.
